Schools soon required to lock all doors

Locked-door policy

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Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced the government would be providing funding to implement a “locked-door policy” at all Ontario elementary schools. By next fall, the Liberal government expects all elementary school in Brampton and the rest of the province to start locking every entrance during the school day to protect students and staff from intruders.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced the government would be providing funding to implement a “locked-door policy” at all Ontario elementary schools.
By next fall, the Liberal government expects all elementary schools in Brampton and the rest of the province to start locking every entrance during the school day to protect students and staff from intruders.
During a news conference at a Catholic elementary school in Toronto Thursday morning, the premier said the provincial government is committing $10 million to implement this “locked-door policy” at Ontario’s 4,000 elementary schools.
In the aftermath of the deadly school shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut last Friday, McGuinty said this was a reasonable step for the government to take to ensure student safety.
According to police reports, 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School last week and killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Following the incident, McGuinty issued a statement intended to allay any concerns among Ontario parents about safety measures being taken to safeguard Ontario schools from such an attack. He said all elementary schools in Ontario lock all doors during the school day to prevent entry from anyone without authorization.
However, local school boards were quick to correct that statement. School board officials at the Peel District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board said that has never been the case at local schools or many school boards across the province.
While most doors at elementary schools are locked to those seeking entry during the school day, main entrance doors are typically left unlocked.
Front doors are usually visible to front office staff who can see visitors entering and all visitors are required to report to the main office upon entry.
In schools where the front doors are not visible from the office, some schools employ closed circuit cameras to monitor access or a front door buzzer system to authorize entry.
Several years ago, the government offered Ontario schools funding through its Safe Welcome Program to help cover the cost of installing buzzers and security cameras so school staff could see and control entrance points. About 850 of the province’s 4,000 elementary schools got funding.
McGuinty said Queen’s Park is reopening that program so all schools that need funding for such security measures can get the financial support required and implement the new policy.
McGuinty said the province would begin taking funding applications from schools in January so the locked-door policy could be fully-implemented by September next year.
“I think it is an appropriate and reasonable response (to concerns generated by the Connecticut shootings),” said McGuinty.
“I think you would find there is broad support for this type of measure,” he added.
Drew Davidson, associate press secretary to the premier, explained the Ministry of Education will work with schools and school boards to find the security system that works best for each school.
She confirmed “all elementary schools are going to be required to have their doors locked by September of next year.”
Peel board officials said their current practice of restricting entrance points to just front doors is an attempt to strike a balance between closing off the school to its community and protecting students and staff from intruders.
McGuinty insisted this policy is not an attempt to turn schools into “fortresses”.
Carla Pereira, a spokesperson for the Peel board, said board administration would now be reviewing all safety protocols and procedures in collaboration with Peel Regional Police and other community safety experts.
“As part of this process, we will review the province’s Safe Welcome program announcement,” she said, adding. “The board affirms that school safety is about more than locked doors, that it is a whole school and board approach.”